Although the fur and
lumber industries predate
agriculture in the New
Liskeard area of northern
Ontario, farming has
sustained this small town for
over 100 years and still has
an impact on its way of life.
With its comparatively
short growing season, heavily-

forested land and hordes of
black flies, the setting
seems an unlikely place from
which to make a living from
farming. But because of a
geological phenomenon that
formed a rift valley, the
farmland surrounding what is
now New Liskeard is very
fertile. Rich topsoil rests

on clay, forming an area now
known as the Little Clay
Belt, which ranges from just
south of Kirkland Lake down
to the present-day city of
Temiskaming Shores. In the
1890s settlers came seeking
cheap, available land. Each
township in the region has
its own unique story to tell

and over the years, local
authors and historians have
successfully done just that.
This exhibition, which,
focusses primarily on the
economical and cultural
impact of the agricultural
industry on the growth of New
Liskeard, is a tribute to
those adventurous, and often